Staff Reports
Last Call — A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.
First Shot
Attorney General Ashley Moody says there has been a sharp increase in sextortion targeting minors.
Sextortion — a portmanteau of “sex” and “extortion”— is a form of exploitation where victims are coerced into sharing explicit photos or videos of themselves. The perpetrator will then blackmail their target by threatening to publicly release the images.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, there were more than 3,000 minor victims of sextortion last year. DOJ says sextortion commonly occurs on online platforms where young people feel most comfortable, such as social media and gaming sites. Online predators often use fake female accounts and target teenage boys, though DOJ has interviewed victims as young as 10.
“Sextortion cases are on the rise nationwide and thousands of minors are being targeted and victimized,” Moody said in a news release. “Parents and guardians, please talk to your children about this disturbing crime and make sure they know not to take or send explicit images to anyone. Keep an open dialogue with your children and urge them to tell you if they are ever asked to exchange inappropriate content.”
Moody has warned about sextortion in the past and the 2022 Human Trafficking Summit organized by her office included a segment on the crime that included information on how parents and guardians can help children avoid being victimized.
Both Moody and the DOJ stress that the most important thing parents can do to protect children is to be aware of what they are doing online. They also recommend requiring children to make their social media accounts private. Several other tips and recommendations are listed in a toolkit produced by Moody’s office.
Evening Reads
—“Can Ron DeSantis avoid meeting the press?” via Michael M. Grynbaum of The New York Times
—“DeSantis aims for $3.5B for environmental projects, targets water improvements” via Gray Rohrer of Florida Politics
—”DeSantis warns Santa Claus against Chinese toys” via A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics
—”In Andrew Warren vs. DeSantis, here’s what the judge might be considering” via Sue Carlton and Dan Sullivan of the Tampa Bay Times
—“DeSantis is polling well against Donald Trump — as long as no one else runs” via Nathaniel Rakich of FiveThirtyEight
—“Did DeSantis try to get Disney a tax break?” via Jason Garcia of Seeking Rents
—“Kevin McCarthy lets down Vern Buchanan — and DeSantis” via Peter Schorsch of Florida Politics
—”The most sweeping changes McCarthy just made to House rules” via Jim Newell of Slate
—”The paradox at the heart of the most diverse Congress ever” via Li Zhou of Vox
—“Field set for HD 24 Special Election, write-in candidate closes GOP Primary” via Jacob Ogles of Florida Politics
—“When it comes to sports TV, there’s NFL and then there’s everything else” via Gavin Bridge of Variety
Quote of the Day
“In terms of the resignation of the other party’s Chairman, there ain’t many … as many Democrats around as there used to be in the state of Florida, and we had something to do with that in November 2022.”
—Gov. Ron DeSantis, on FDP Chair Manny Diaz’s resignation.
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